Discover Romania
	Date October 10, 2000  Author PC Hardware  Language English only

People from all over the world ask us (quite often) where is Romania located and how it actually is in Romania. From time to time we are called by people who know NOTHING about us as being part of the third world. Others ask us if there is a war in Romania. There are also a lot who ask if indeed there are computers in Romania. The truth is that Romania is not part of the third world, there is no war in Romania ( and it haven't been since the World War II ). About computers - right now I am in the front of one and in this room there are fifteen more. Romania is a beautiful land with mountains, plains, rivers, forests. Romanian cities, also not as large as American metropolis are beautiful. Below you can find some facts about our country and several pictures which I hope that will convince you that Somalia is far away from here :).

The Land

Romania, Romanian ROMÂNIA, in the eastern half of the Balkans, is the largest country of the peninsula, having an area of 91,699 square miles (237,500 square kilometers). Its boundaries total is 1,959 miles (3,153 kilometers), with Ukraine on the north, Moldova on the northeast, the Black Sea on the east, Bulgaria on the south, Serbia on the southwest, and Hungary on the west. The capital is Bucharest (Bucuresti). There is a certain symmetry in the physical structure of Romania. The country forms a complex geographic unit centered on the Transylvanian Basin, around which the peaks of the Carpathian Mountains and their associated subranges and structural platforms form a series of crescents. Beyond this zone, the extensive plains of the south and east of the country, their potential increased by the Danube and its tributaries, form a fertile outer crescent extending to the frontiers. The highest point in Romania is the peak of Moldoveanu (8,346 feet [2,544 m]) in the Southern Carpathians. The three ranges, with an average elevation of 2,620 feet (800 m), form a semicircle, open to the west through structural depressions ("gates"). On the outer fringe of the Carpathians' great arc are the Subcarpathians, reaching elevations between 1,300 and 3,300 feet (400 and 1,000 m). The eastern and southern plains occupy one-third of the country's total area and formed the populated cores of historic Moldavia and Walachia, respectively.

Sighisoara, small Carpathian city	Cercul Militar National in Bucharest

Romania's climate is intermediate between the temperate and continental types. Average annual temperatures range from 52° F (11° C) in the south to 45° F (7° C) in the north; average annual rainfall ranges from 16 inches (400 mm) in the southeast to 55 inches (1,400 mm) in the Carpathian Mountains. The highest temperature ever reached was 44,5º C in Baragan plain. Oak, beech, and coniferous forests cover about one-fourth of the land.

The people

Romanians represent almost 90 percent of the populace. The largest minorities are the Hungarians (7 percent), who live mostly in Transylvania, Gypsies (2 percent), and Germans (0.5 percent). Romanian is the official language, although Hungarian and German are preserved by their communities and may be used as languages of instruction in schools. Some 86 percent of Romanians profess affiliation to the Romanian Orthodox church. A small number of Romanians (mostly living in Transylvania) adhere to the Eastern-rite Roman Catholic Church of Romania, while Hungarians and Germans are mostly Roman Catholic, Calvinist, or Lutheran.

Motto: Our people are like canes: the wind can bend them, but it can never tear them.

The earliest inhabitants of Romania included the Thracians, whose descendants, known as the Getae, established contact with Greek colonies that appeared on the shore of the Black Sea in the 7th century BC. Together with the Dacians, a related people living in the Carpathian Mountains and in Transylvania, the Getae established a distinct society by the 4th century BC. This Dacian civilization reached its heyday under Decebalus, in the first century AD, but he was finally defeated by the Roman Emperor Trajan in 106. Roman colonization and intermarriage followed and though brief, Roman rule left an enduring legacy in the Romanian language, which is derived from Latin. Constant invasions by the Goths forced the Romans to abandon Dacia in the late 3rd century, and over the next eight centuries the land was swept by invasions of Visigoths, Huns, Avars, Slavs, Bulgars, and Magyars. Subjection to the first Bulgarian empire (8th-10th century) brought Eastern Orthodox Christianity to the Romanians. The first Romanian state, Walachia, was established south of the Carpathians during the early 14th century, and a second, Moldavia, was founded in 1349 east of the Carpathians in the Prut River valley. A succession of noble leaders held of the Turks, namely Prince Mircea the Old, Prince Vlad Tepes (the Impaler) and Stephen the Great of Moldavia, who built close to 50 monasteries and churches and molded Moldavian culture. In the 16th century Michael the Brave united all these three provinces and chased away the Turks. In many respects the 15th and 16th centuries were a golden age of architecture and art. In 1812 Russia gained control of Bessarabia (southeastern Moldavia). Romanian nationalism began to rise in the mid-19th century. Insurrections erupted in Walachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania but were suppressed by the Ottomans and Russians. Following the Crimean War (1853-56), Walachia and Moldavia became independent principalities once again, and in 1859 both elected a single prince to rule them, creating the de facto state of Romania with its capital at Bucharest. This state was united administratively in 1861 and won international recognition in the Treaty of Berlin (1878) following the Russo-Turkish War. In 1881 Romania became a monarchy under the rule of king Charles I. Romania entered World War I with the Alliesand with the defeat of the Central Powers in 1918, Romania's territory was doubled by the addition of Transylvania, Bukovina, and Bessarabia. In the beginning of the World War II Romania was compelled to fight beside the Germans but by 23 August 1944 Soviet troops had overrun the country. Under their occupation, leaders of the conservative, liberal, and peasant parties were forced from office, and at the end of 1947 the Romanian king Michael I was forced to abdicate. Romanian communists acquired complete control of the Grand National Assembly in the March 1948 elections, adopted a Soviet-style constitution, and proclaimed the Romanian People's Republic. After 1948 Romania entered the network of Soviet satellite countries, but in the 1960s, under the leadership of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej and his successor, Nicolae Ceausescu, the Communist Party of Romania (PCR) began to implement a foreign policy independent of Soviet goals. Using the socialist tools of state ownership and central planning, the PCR fostered the rapid growth of heavy industry and transformed Romania from an agrarian to an urban society. During the 1970s Ceausescu attempted to modernize the Romanian economy further by investing huge sums borrowed from Western credit institutions. His grandiose development projects failed, however, and consequently the Romanian people were subjected to a rigorous austerity program in the 1980s in order to pay off the country's accumulated foreign debt that had been paid entirely by the end of the '80. The standard of living plunged as Romania exported much of its food and fuel production. The populace was terrorized by the secret police, and the government, dominated by Ceausescu's family, squandered much of the nation's remaining wealth on public monuments and urbanization schemes. When communist regimes across eastern Europe fell in 1989, Ceausescu resisted the trend and reasserted his unpopular policies. In mid-December of that year, however, antigovernment demonstrations erupted in the country's cities, and, when the Romanian army joined the uprising against him, Ceausescu fled. He was arrested by the new provisional government and was tried and executed. In the course of the revolution a group calling itself the Council of the National Salvation Front took over the reins of government. The council, which represented a broad coalition of former communists and noncommunists alike, held multiparty elections to the presidency and the national parliament in May 1990. These elections were won by the National Salvation Front, whose formerly communist leaders called for a gradual and controlled transition to a free-market economy in Romania. This party dominated the drafting of a new constitution in 1991, and it retained control of the government following national elections in September and October 1992. From November 1996 an alliance of Christian-democratic parties rules the country.

Discovering such a beautiful land can be a challenge for everyone, especial for those who enjoy a breathtaking landscape, a delicious meal, a good wine and friendly people.

There are many regions in Romania that are well-known for their cultural treasures. A trip to Moldavia and Bucovina is a fantastic opportunity to see beautiful churches and monasteries built in Middle Ages, that charm with their architecture, paintings and their treasures. For a Christian it is an oasis of peace and harmony, that in our troubled lives one can hardly achieve. The monastery of Voronet, built in 1488 by Stephen the Great, is one of the finest in the Eastern Europe and it is often called "the Sixtine Chapel of the East". Towns like Iasi, Suceava and Targu Neamt are proofs to an uninterrupted history of brave people who fought for their lives and their land.

Old ruins of Cetatea Neamtului

Maramures is world-known for its ethnic inheritance. Traditional costumes that impress with their joyful colors, the beauty of their hand-sewn models, wooden churches, wonderful people and their life-stories: that's what you'll find in this region. Every Romanian has heard about the cemetery from the village Capanta, that is known for its beautiful wooden-carved crosses (the Orthodox custom) with humorous epitaphs. And one other thing: here they make "tuica", one of the strongest and delicious drinks that you could ever find. Try it; trust me, it's good!

What are you thinking at when you say Transylvania? It could either be a breathtaking scenery with mountain peaks rising up to the sky and green valleys with quick rivers and sheep that graze untroubled or you can imagine a scenery with medieval towns with narrow streets and colorful houses, mansions and royal castles, which all have a beautiful story to tell. That's all right, that is Transylvania, that's the land "beyond the forests". Towns like Brasov, Sibiu, Sighisoara tell the story of the Saxons who came here many, many centuries ago and who lived in peace beside the Romanians. Castles like Bran Castle, Corvin Castle or Peles Castle can tell you many things about our restless history. Every one of them has a legend of its own, for example, Bram Stoker's count Dracula it is said to have lived in Bran Castle. In fact this castle was built in the Middle Ages and prince Vlad Tepes, who was Stoker's model, lived in it, but at the end of previous century it was rebuilt and redecorated by Queen Mary.

If you want to have a memorable experience than go visit the Danube Delta, there where the Europe's second river flows into the Black Sea, there where are living over 300 species of birds, 1,150 species of plants and countless species of fish. You'll see things that otherwise you can't see in a lifetime! UNESCO designated the Delta a "Reservation of the Biosphere", so you can see how important it is to preserve such a legacy. Therefore there are eighteen protected reservations and one needs a permit issued by the reservation of the Biosphere to sail with a rowing boat into the smaller channels. It is a beautiful landscape which hasn't been yet spoiled.

Romania is world famous for its monasteries, several older than 400 years old. Below there are several pictures. Thanks to www.turism.ro for information.

Beautiful Romanian artwork in Sapanta

Voronet

The " Sixtine Chapel" of the East- Voronet This " Sixtine Chapel of the East" was built by Stephen the Great in 1488 and the vivid colours of its frescoes added later. The paintings show an adaptation of classic Byzantine art to Moldavian realities. Thus the archangels' trumpets take the shape of the local shepherds' horn or "bucium" and souls doomed to hellfire wear the turbans of the Turkish enemy.

Molovita	Frescoes from Voronet walls

Moldovita

Striking shades of red, blue, yellow and brown characterize the monumental scene of the " Siege of Constantinopole" on the walls of the Moldovita church. Inside, 16th century furniture survives, including Prince Petru Rares' chair, as large as a throne. The Prince built Moldovita and his statue stands outside.

In the middle of the nature, Sucevita

Sucevita

The Sucevita Monastery complex, set in a beautiful green valley, is fortified like a citadel with watch towers at its four corners. Thousands of pictures decorate the walls of the church. In fact they outnumber the pictures at any of the other monasteries, yet the western wall is blank. Legend has it that the artist fell off the wall scaffolding and was killed, so it remained undecorated. When you go there, look for the complex " Jesse's Tree" on the southern wall.

Voronet	Agapia

Bucharest, the so called "little Paris" is both a modern and old city. Finding your way is easy in Bucharest. The underground network offers a standard fare and covers most of the city. Major boulevards run North-South from the Arcul de Triumf (Triumphal Arch) down to the Centrul Civic, (Civic Center) crossed by others going East-West. Calea Victoriei - a continuation of Soseaua Kisseleff - is the place where the city's inhabitants prefer taking strolls on summer evenings and where you will find majestic public buildings like the National History Museum and the main Post Office, whereas close to its Southern end there is the lovely Parcul Cismigiu (Cismigiu Park). Bulevardul (Boulevard) Magheru is parallel to Calea Victoriei and it hosts tourist and airline offices, cinemas and hotels. It has old buildings like the ones below

Bucharest Arc of Triumph	Curtea Veche, an old Bucharest place

The interior of "Beer wagon", a Bucharest Pub

"Hanul lui Manuc", a 19th century roadside inn

Central bank of Romania

Bucharest has the world's second largest building ( after Pentagon ). It is called The Republic House and it was build between 1982-1990, during the communism. The 1,500-room House of the Republic, with 11-story structure, equipped with an underground metro stop and bomb shelter, was the most ambitious building project of Romania’s Communist president Nicolae Ceausescu.

Republic House

Below you can enjoy several beautiful pictures of Carpathians mountains or shoten in its forests. We hope you like them. Clicking on pictures will enlarge them!

These are just a few pictures. We were able to find many more, but for our scope I think it's enought! Many thanks to pictures authors for these! Click on pictures to enlarge.

I guess you have all heard about Prince Dracula. I have to disappoint you: it's just a legend. Dracula's legend is based on Prince Vlad Tepes life, which had a pretty strange habit. Vlad Dracul, Dracula actually means "son of Dracul", was born during the year of 1430. Contrary to popular belief he did not have pointy ears or unusually sharp teeth. Vlad Dracul is considered the base character in Bram Stoker's epic story Dracula. He was born in Schassburg (also Sighisoara), a town in Transylvania. His life was completely surrounded by war, barbarism, and extreme savagry. This life soon encouraged him to committ the violent acts that followed. Soon after his birth, his father-also Vlad- was annointed with the insignia of the Order of the Dragon. This oath swore Vlad Dracul to defend the Christian lands from the Islamic Turks, their sworn enemies. Thus the Vlad we know as "Dracula" became Vlad Dracula. Vlad Dracul was a claimant to the throne of Wallachia. He was able to wrest the throne from his half-brother in 1436. All his enemies or thieves were murdered in a violent way. To be more precise a they were all impaled. Take a look to the castle were Prince Vlad lived, the Bran Castle.

Bran Castle

Look at his picture below. It doesn't look like in the movie, is it?

Vlad Tepes "Dracul"

Peles Castle

If you want to visit Dracula's castle, you may also wish to visit the PELES CASTLE, one of the most representative museums of Romania was built between 1883-1914 and conceived as a summer residence for the first King of Romania, Carol the 1-th of Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen (1866-1914). Take a look to the pictures below:

The first architects Wilhelm Doderer from Wien, and Johannes Schultz from Lvov , gave to the castle the features of the German Renaissance style: vertical and sharp profiles, asymetry of the corps, abundance of carved wood and integration into the landscape. The official inauguration took place on October the 7th 1883